new Ni-MH batts- best care?

[virtualbeing]

thankfully from CPF i have learned a bit not only about good lights, but batts and chargers too :thumbsup:

i got several batts- NexCell, Sanyo, Maha, etc. and a La Cross BC-900 charger.

well, i used the charger to recondition all the old batts we had. I had several that were giving fits to energizer quick charger. Out of roughly 40AA and a few AAA i only had 1AA that the La cross didn't like. not bad statistically. Does "reconditioning" really work that kind of magic on old batts? what exactly is it doing?:poof:


As for my new batts- i haven't done anything to them at all. what do you guys recommend? reconditioning to start, or a regular low amp slow charge? what would treat my new batts right from the beginning to keep them "healthy"?:)


thanks in advance.

 

[JohnMuchow]

I have a bit of info on my site at http://www.camlight.com
There are a lot of strategies for conditioning new cells but I typically do three cycles of a very slow charge to 125% of capacity and discharge also at a 0.25C to 0.5C rate.

After that, all bets are off and the abuse begins. :)

With an occasional conditioning if not being regularly used, my NiCd's typically last about 9-10 years and the NiMH's about 6-8 years before the capacity drops too much.

John

 

[Eugene]

I have sanyo NiMH's that are from 1999-2000 that tested out at 80% just last year. I've replaced them with eneloops for my gear and use those in my kids toys now. I have rayovacs from 2005 that tested at 80%. None of the radio shack, energizer etc lasted long enough for long term tests like that.
Best care would be to toss that quick charger but even some of mine were abused by a rayovac quick charger but the better (sayno) batteries are going on 10 years now.